The Starting Line @ Starland Ballroom 1.7.11
Friday, January 14, 2011 at 8:05 AM Photo by Melissmeliss328
By: David Glynn
So tonight I’m gonna party like its 1999. That’s what played as The Starting Line walked on stage last night and I don’t think anything could have better described how each person in that crowd felt. I don’t think I was fully aware of it at the time but the more I think about it, every song that was played and every word that I sang meant as much to me as it did the first time sang it. I know I wasn’t alone. It’s rare that you get the chance to follow a band from conception to fruition, let alone over the course of 11 years. From where I stood, watching everyone go through the same euphoric experience, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you if I was 15 and watching them play to 30 kids at the Birch Hill right after the first beer of my life or if I was 25 and watching them play to a sold out crowd right after my first beer of the night. Although the faces may have been a little older and our amount of life experience infinitely greater, the way it all felt was exactly how I remembered; fully intact and untouched by responsibility, struggle or success.
Every song was the song I wanted to hear. The set list was comprehensive with songs from their first release “With Hopes of Starting Over” to their most recent “Direction”. Even with the lengthy hiatus, they were as tight as I’d ever seen. More importantly, they were having fun just like the rest of us. You could feel the exchange of emotion between the entertainment and the entertained. Just as I was looking back on the past 10 years, wondering “when did everything get so complicated’; they were doing the same. During the two song encore, to my surprise, they played a new song “Luck” that despite not knowing a single word, I really enjoyed.
I left the show with an awkward feeling. Not because I felt unsatisfied or disappointed. Not because there is always that one kid who has to wear a Winnie the Pooh costume (some things never change). I felt strange because I finally understood… we got older but we’re still young.
That’s a joke, the show was amazing.
Setlist
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